Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

Hi there all,
This is my first post on Micechat. I am a long time lurker though. I have been going to disneyland multiple times a year since I was a small kid, and for the past four years I have gotten an annual pass, along with everyone else in my family, since my income now allows it!

Anyways, I had never been to Mickey's Trick or Treat Party before this year, and since making over-the-top custom costumes is one of my hobbies, my girlfriend and I decided to go all out Disney for MTOTP this year.

Being such a huge fan of the Haunted Mansion, I decided who better to dress up as than the Hatbox Ghost!? The most famous, and illusive of the ride's characters. I set to work months ago creating this costume from scratch. I hand made most of the patterns used. The entire costume was custom sewn to my specifications. I had the mask custom made just for me so it would adhere to all MTOTP costume guidelines and rules. I also did a custom airbrush job on every single piece, and infused every part of the costume with a very expensive pigmentation to make the enitire thing glow in the dark.

My girlfriend decided to go as the evil queen from Snow White. Her entire costume was also custom made, including the crown, and various patterns. Her costume ended up being EASILY better than the ones used by Disney in the parks. It was also much more movie accurate, and the way she looked in it just sealed the deal to say the least.

My girlfriends' little sister also accompanied us in a custom made Alice costume.

(sorry for the length at this point here folks. I feel the need the illustrate the time and great cost $$$$ that went into making these costumes. it definitely factors into the post.)

So we showed up at MTOTP and just in walking to the trams' we were seriuosly being mobbed by people. Everyone wanted pictures with us. I have been out in public several times in an eye-catching costume, but this exceeded all of my expectations.

We entered DCA to find even more of the same: people literally clamoring to get pictures of us. It really was crazy. We could not stop to take any pictures for ourselves, or we would be instantly surrounded by camera-toting trick or treaters!!

Soon after we entered the park I stopped and spoke to two security officers to make sure everything we were doing was okay, because I knew security was watching us. They said we were fine, just we weren't allowed to pose for pictures with any guests ( which I already knew), and that we looked great, and to have fun!!

So, We had been in the park for roughly 30 to 40 min total when were sort of instantaneously surrounded up against a fence by seven ( thats right 7!) security guards!! Two of them were the same security personel I had spoken with earlier in the night.
One of them was the head security manager that night. she told me that since my mask had no eye holes ( which it did, I had it specifically made with eye holes) i had to remove it or leave.

Now I had a serious problem with this, because this was obviously the most important part of my costume. So I showed here the eye holes, but she said it did not matter, I had to remove it or leave.
She said that if I had a problem with it, she had the Guest Claims number, and would give it to me so I could talk to them about it. And of course I wanted the guest claims number, but it just so turns out that she didn't have it ( this is the head of park security we are talking about here) and when she asked eachmember of her team if they did, none of them had it (really professional).

So she escorted me, and my family up the front of the park, to guest relations/ services etc. She asked the Guest relations front desk for the number and they said they didn't have it either. I couldn't beilve it. this is the sort of thing I would expect from Walmart.
To make matters worse, after several minutes of searching she wrote down the number with a marker on a piece of ripped scratch paper!!!

I don't know about you folks on this board but that just screamed "unprofessional" and "disorganized" right in my ear. I couldn't believe I was at a Disney park.

At first they weren't even going to refund the tickets for the event, but after I put up a fight and about 90 min in guest relations they did.

The CM, herself acknowledged that I had not broken any park or event rules before we left and that the entire decision was, " based soley on her discretion". They had us leave and that was it.

I have spent a total of almost two hours on the phone with guest claims since then, and they will not do anything for me. They do not care. they offered to send me some fast passes!! That is it!! Can you believe that??!!
that alone doesn't even compensate for the 4 hours it took us just to get there and back that night, or the gas, let alone the thousands of dollars spent on these costumes, countless hours, and sleepless nights, all the while adhering to their rules!!

It looks as though I won't be buying anymore Disneyland tickets, and I will definitely be calling of next years' visit to Disneyworld in florida.

Without any further ado, here are the few picture that we were able to take that night:

( note the eyeholes visible in every picture!!)

Please let me know what you think guys and gals!!

Last edited by Disneykat; 11-04-2009 at 06:55 PM.
Reason: edited for naming a specific CM

Re: Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

Wow, I can't believe that. It is kind of hard to see the eyeholes in the picture, but I bet that it's easier up close.
That does sound extremely unprofessional, and how upsetting after all that work!
On the bright side, you guys looked amazing. And the Queen outfit is lovely!

Re: Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

Re: Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

That's absolutely awful. I tend to think Disneyland is amazing at making things up for their guests, but the fact you had to ARGUE to get a refund...
From what I heard, they allow children to wear masks sometimes, too. Ugh. I'm so sorry that had to happen to you. Your costume is fantastic, and the evil queen looks absolutely stunning! Alice looks cute, too, haha.

Re: Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

AMAZING costumes! That really sucks hairy donkey 'nads they kicked you guys out like the way they did.Next year you should go to all the local costume parties that give out cash prizes for best costume and clean them all out!

Re: Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

Re: Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

That seriously sucks that you were asked to leave. Your costumes are truly, the most amazing I have ever seen! Being a HUGE Evil Queen fan...I LOVE LOVE LOVE your girldfriend's costume. It's just......beautiful. She played the part perfectly. She just looks exactly like her. Wonderful!

Re: Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

Wow! What a horrible story! I'm so sorry that you had that experience! Your costumes were amazing, and I can clearly see the eyeholes in the mask. There's no question that a lot of care and work went into those.

By the way, I sure hope you told your girlfriend how amazing she looked. She's beautiful!

Re: Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

Wowza! While reading yer spiel, I kept thinking 'I hope this dude posts a pic'. That was freaking amazing! It was far more grand than I was expecting! Fantastic job!

I wonder if they wanted you leave because you were causing such a frenzy with your radness? Like you said, your girlfriend's costume was 'better' than those the face characters wear. It could be that Disney did not want to be out-done.

Re: Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

You might want to edit your post to remove the name of the security guard. I know you're upset and the costume is impressive. But I believe name dropping of CMs in both bad or even good situations is not usually encouraged here.

Re: Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

Wow, sounds like a really bad experiance. The costumes look amazing, maybe too amazing though? Is there a chance (not that this makes it ok) that there was a concern that your costume was too good and would detract the experiance that the park was selling? You even said so yourself that the Queens outfit was superior to the disney one; maybe they were jealous.

Re: Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

Hate to be a dissenter because your costumes are AMAZING. The detail is truly inspiring!

The following were rules for costumes, which all guests should be aware of before visiting. (Bold mine)

Guests of all ages may wear costumes only to the Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party event for which their ticket is valid. Otherwise, costumes are only permitted at either theme park for Guests ages 9 and under. All costumes must adhere to any guidelines as determined solely by Disney. Please choose costumes that are not obstructive, offensive, or violent. Guests may wear masks, but masks must not obstruct vision and the eyes must be visible at all times.Guests dressed as Disney characters may not pose for photos or sign autographs for other guests. Costumes should not drag on the ground, and should not contain sharp or pointed objects that could strike other guests. Costumes should not contain weapons or objects which could be mistaken for weapons.

I can't really tell by your pictures for certain, but unless the hatbox ghost's eyes are your eyes, the costume does not adhere to the rules. Also, unfortunately, since the HBG is a Disney character, you would not be allowed to pose for pictures.

Lastly, I'm sure Disney is always very careful with their legal, and as you can see, they are able to make up rules to their discretion.

I agree that your costume is absolutely fabulous, and what happened is very unfortunate. Though, security did give you the option to stay in the park with your mask off. The refund of your entrance price and the offer of Fast Pass tickets is FAR more than Disney needed to offer you. Great outfit, but don't feel attacked by what happened.

Re: Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

Originally Posted by leopardchucks

I wonder if they wanted you leave because you were causing such a frenzy with your radness? Like you said, your girlfriend's costume was 'better' than those the face characters wear. It could be that Disney did not want to be out-done.

I was thinking the same thing...

Anyway, amazing costumes. My jaw dropped when I saw yours. They should have hired you on the spot for their costume department! Simply fantastic.

Re: Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

Kick you out?!? Geez, they should HIRE you! You should be paid to stroll around the grounds of the Haunted Mansion, and they should pay you lots and lots of money for it, more money than any other Disneyland character has ever been paid.